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Jay Leno makes surprise appearance on 'Tonight Show'

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(CNN)Comedian Jay Leno, who got to temporarily retake the reins of the "Tonight Show" on Tuesday, used his brief return to the spotlight to skewer 2016 presidential hopefuls.

After likening Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley's 2% in the polls to "tying with two percent milk," Leno pivoted to the crowded Republican field.

Leno noted that after the CNN Republican debate last month, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was dubbed "The best communicator in the Republican Party" by some, "which is kind of like being the smartest Kardashian."

Leno got to sub in for a few minutes when host Jimmy Fallon got a fake injury in the middle of his opening monologue.

"The election's getting nasty. See, Ralph Nader called Hillary Clinton a corporatist and a militarist. Isn't that unbelievable?" Leno quipped, "Ralph Nader is still alive?"

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And after referring to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as "señor" and the other "Hispanic" running for president, Leno said that many believe that once the crowded Republican field clears, it will be down to Bush and billionaire Donald Trump.

"Kind of like the race between the tortoise and the bad hair," Leno said, alluding to Bush's continued remarks that his success will be "slow and steady" and Trump's famous blonde locks.

As Leno rattled off "the economy is so bad that" jokes, Fallon couldn't help but jump back on stage, exclaiming "Wait, wait I got one!"

"The economy's so bad, Hillary Clinton wanted people to look into her deleted emails to see if there are any from that Nigerian prince."